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The biggest story of the college football offseason has been the Nico Iamaleava saga after his controversial departure from Tennessee, but now it appears he has found his new home. Iamaleava is expected to end up at UCLA next season, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.
UCLA football is looking to turn things around in year two under DeShaun Foster after Chip Kelly's departure, so it makes sense for the Bruins to take a gamble on a toolsy, talented quarterback to inject the offense with some life. The former five-star recruit is a natural thrower with a big arm who showed flashes of stardom during an inconsistent 2024 season with Tennessee.
Iamaleava has become a polarizing player over the past few weeks after his NIL holdout forced Tennessee to cut ties with the California native. His decision to enter the transfer portal was not met with the same amount of fanfare from other teams as he may have expected, and now he lands with UCLA football.
On the field, Iamaleava almost certainly won't have the same talent around him that he would have at Tennessee, but he will play in a system that is much more conducive to his goal of reaching the NFL. Tino Sunseri is the new offensive coordinator for Foster, so Iamaleava will be hoping for the same growth at UCLA that Kurtis Rourke had at Indiana under Sunseri last season.
Iamaleava's dispute with the Volunteers initially came when he wanted a raise to about $4 million in his NIL deal. Tennessee wouldn't budge, causing him to hold out and forcing Tennessee's hand.
The Volunteers will now be in a mad scramble to find another quarterback, as Josh Heupel's squad is now easily the top program that is still in search of a transfer quarterback. The market at the position is relatively thin at the position at the moment, so Tennessee will have to hope somebody jumps in with the intention of starting in Knoxville.
